Epiphany

Epiphany: What is it?

If you haven’t taken the Christmas decorations down already, you may be asked to help to do this on 6th January

The presents have been opened, the puddings eaten and lots of carols sung – and now it feels like Christmas has been and gone for another year.

But 6 January marks an important date for many people in the Christmas calendar.

That is because it is the date of something called Epiphany.

What is Epiphany?

Epiphany – also known as Three Kings’ Day – is a Christian festival, which starts on 6 January.

It is a special date in the Christmas story as it’s when people celebrate how a star led the Magi – also known as the Three kings or the Wise Men – to visit the baby Jesus after he had been born.

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Epiphany is a Christian festival that marks the day the three Wise Men went to visit the baby Jesus

‘Epiphany’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘to reveal’, as it is when the baby Jesus was ‘revealed’ to the world.

This is why you might hear people say they’ve had an epiphany, when they’ve just realised something.

In some countries many families will take off 6 January and exchange presents. In Spain and Latin America, El Dia de los Reyes is just as important as Christmas Day itself.

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Here, children are celebrating the Dia de los Reyes in New York

A bit like how you might leave a carrot and mince pie out on Christmas Eve, the night before El Día de los Reyes, children leave out drinks for the Three Kings and there are parades and fireworks displays to mark the occasion.